Los Llanos

Los Llanos is the vast plains region covering much of central and southwestern Venezuela.

Venezuela's Llanos is sparsely populated, mostly by tough farmers and cowboys living off the region's main activity, extensive cattle-ranching.

• Apure
• Barinas
• Cojedes
• Guárico
• Portuguesa

• San Fernando de Apure

• Amazing wildlife including anacondas, the ubiquitous capybaras and caimans, hundreds of bird species, and the much rarer jaguars and anteaters. This is also the last stronghold of the Orinoco Crocodile.

• Stunning flat landscapes.

• Go on a plains safari from at one of the ranches in the region.
• Dance to joropo - the traditional Llanos music.

• Chiguire, or capybara, meat.
• Venezuela's best beef

• Hato La Fe, At km 51 of the Calabozo-San Fernando de Apure national highway, right at the entrance to the town of Corozopando, Guarico state, ☎ +58 (414) 3254188, +58 (414) 468874 (info@posadahatolafe.com), www.posadahatolafe.com.
• Posada Doña Bárbara, On the San Silvestre-San Rafael de Canaguá road in Barinas state, 60 minutes from the state capital., ☎ Reservations: 0251 269-2304, 260-1200. Posada: 0273 552-3208, www.posadadonabarbara.com.
• Hato el Frío, (180km west of San Fernando), ☎ 0240 8083662, 0416 5409420 (elfriolosllanos@cantv.net), www.elfrioeb.com. An excellent ranch and biological station
• Hato El Cedral, Near Mantecal, in the lower Llanos of Apure (A 3-hour drive from San Fernando, head towards Mantecal/Elorza. After passing through Mantecal take a left to Elorza and the ranch entrance is 15 mins down on the left), ☎ 0212 7818995 (info@elcedral.com), www.elcedral.com.
• Hato Piñero, In the central Llanos, southwestern Cojedes, ☎ 0212 991-8935, 991-0079 (hatopinero@branger.com), www.hatopinero.com.
• Hato Araguaquén, in Cunaviche.